Pakṣilasvāmin's introduction to his Nyāyabhāṣyam is perhaps one of the most interesting texts of the older Nyāya indispensable to the understanding of the system. This is not because the ideas expressed therein were not to be surpassed at a later period, but because in it the development of the school appears fixed, as it were, in a "transitory moment" (transitorisches Moment), and we see there for the first time that line of thought, which historically took form in the Nyāya philosophy, (...) becoming aware of itself in a clear, though archaic, manner. Furthermore, if we bear in mind to what extent such an interpretation of a school (given by itself) determines its development, the importance of Pakṣilasvāmin's text for the history of Nyāya cannot be over-estimated. (shrink)

Wann hört eine Disziplin wie die Literaturwissenschaft auf, wissenschaftlich zu sein? Unter diktatorischen Bedingungen, wenn sie aus Zwang, aus Anpassung oder freiwillig politisch wird? War die Neuere deutsche Literaturwissenschaft während des Nationalsozialismus keine Wissenschaft, waren ihre Vertreter keine Wissenschaftler mehr? Welche Handlungsspielräume hatte das Fach überhaupt zwischen 1933 und 1945? Auf diese Fragen gibt es keine einfachen Antworten und die differenzierte Forschungslage zum Thema ist kaum noch zu überblicken. Eine methodisch reflektierte Gesamtdarstellung, die diesem Wissensstand Rechnung trägt, ohne sich in (...) ihm zu verlieren, ist somit ein Desiderat. Die Arbeit von Gerhard Kaiser bietet die erste monographische Synthese des Forschungsstands; darüber hinaus rekonstruiert und analysiert der Autor umfassend und differenziert die 'Grenzverwirrungen' zwischen Wissenschaft und Politik in der Literaturwissenschaft im Nationalsozialismus. Methodisch gesehen integriert die Studie wissenschaftssoziologische, argumentationsgeschichtliche und textanalytische Forschungsansätze sowie Ergebnisse der Wissenschafts- und Gesellschaftsgeschichte. Sie vermeidet damit zum einen die Abstraktionen einer systemtheoretischen Wissenschaftsauffassung, die zu Konkretionsdefiziten führen kann, sobald sie sich der empirisch-historischen Ebene der Wissenschaftsgeschichte zuwendet, und sie erweitert zum anderen den Fokus personalbiographischer Detailstudien. Gerhard Kaiser erhielt für dieses Buch 2008 den 'Studienpreis der Camilla-Dirlmeier-Gedächtnis Stiftung an der Universität Siegen' als Anerkennung für herausragende wissenschaftliche Leistung. (shrink)

Om: Walter Benjamin: Geschichtsphilosophische Thesen og Theodor W. Adorno: Ästhetische Theorie.

Biology and history are often viewed as closely related disciplines, with biology informed by history, especially in its task of charting our evolutionary past. Maximizing the opportunities for cross-fertilization in these two fields requires an accurate reckoning of their commonalities and differences-precisely what this volume sets out to achieve. Specially commissioned essays by a team of recognized international researchers cover the full panoply of topics in these fields and include notable contributions on the correlativity of evolutionary and historical explanations, applying (...) to history the latest causal-mechanical approach in the philosophy of biology, and the question of generalized laws that might pertain across the two subjects. The collection opens with a vital interrogation of general issues on explanation that apart from potentially fruitful areas of interaction (could the etiology of the causal-mechanical perspective in biology account for the historical trajectory of the Roman Empire?) this volume also seeks to chart relative certainties distinguishing explanations in biology and history. It also assesses techniques such as the use of probabilities in biological reconstruction, deployed to overcome the inevitable gaps in physical evidence on early evolution. Methodologies such as causal graphs and semantic explanation receive in-depth analysis. Contributions from a host of prominent and widely read philosophers ensure that this new volume has the stature of a major addition to the literature. (shrink)

Nelson Goodman (1906-1998) was one of the outstanding thinkers of the 20th century. In a memorial note, Hilary Putnam considers him to be ""one of the two or three greatest analytic philosophers of the post-World War II period"". Goodman has left his mark in many fields of philosophical investigation: Epistemology, Philosophy of Science, Logic, Metaphysics, the General Theory of Symbols, Philosophy of Languageand Philosophy of Art, all have been challenged and enriched by the problems he has shown up, the projects (...) he developed from them and the solutions he has suggested. In August 2006 a coup. (shrink)

Infertility is an unpredictable but widespread condition. While high‐income countries grapple with when, or how to cover the costs of assisted reproductive technology (ART), such as in‐vitro fertilisation (IVF), these services are generally only available to wealthy persons at private facilities in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). Although the principle of non‐interference with normal individual reproductive rights is robust, whether it is also the responsibility of collective society to provide the means (when ART applies) to achieve pregnancy, is controversial. Recently, (...) a low‐cost model was developed at a South African public institution. The target population for this model was “helpless and marginalised, childless couples”, but a new threat has arisen, namely, infertile couples who could conceivably afford private care. In the allocation of this scarce resource, we argue for a prioritarian response that first addresses the worst‐off, in order to even out unequal access imposed by sharp differences in income. (shrink)

A study of the analogies between alchemy, Christian dogma, and psychological symbolism. Revised translation, with new bibliography and index.

Self-, collective, and participative efficacy are strong predictors of sustainability action. Yet, few studies have investigated the dynamics and variability of efficacy beliefs. In this transdisciplinary study, we tested such factors in the context of a peer-to-peer coaching program for sustainability volunteers, embedded in a structured-educational context. Over weekends, 2 qualified coaches trained 36 German bottom-up, student-led sustainability initiatives. These coaches instructed students in team building, envisioning, project planning, and on-campus sustainability practice. While 317 participants completed our pre-questionnaire, N = (...) 165 completed both the pre- and post-questionnaire. As hypothesized, after having participated in the coaching weekend, action skills, collaboration skills, group identification, and self-, collective, and participative efficacy all increased. The latter of these increased, to our knowledge, for the first time in environmental psychology research. Group identification and having a vision emerged as important efficacy predictors, and participative efficacy beliefs in turn predicted volunteering. Moreover, we took initial steps in investigating the interaction of psychological and structural factors from a multilevel perspective. Our analyses revealed that efficacy beliefs on the individual level were higher when the university had a green office and when the student initiative was at a small university. We conclude by proposing an empowerment model for sustainability volunteers and by discussing the practical implications of our findings. (shrink)